Home
by moony7778
Summary: What happened during the war? How many humans met their end at the hands of the invading Gems? When did Rose gain her first up close look at humanity? What happens when a boy who loses everything comes across the enemies of the ones that tore his life apart?
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Is it ready?"

"M-my Diamond!" The tourmaline squeaked, quickly straightening and saluting her leader, crossing her arms over her chest. The Diamond said nothing, standing in front of the viewing window, her hands folded behind her back, simply waiting for an answer. "Y-yes, my Diamond." Tourmaline said, turning and tapping away on her control panel, her green skin lit up ominously by the glow of the screens.

"The shards have been collected, the host has been subdued, the pressure chamber is calibrated for incubation, and the resin is properly warmed." The smaller gem looked up at the Diamond, who had not even glanced down at her. She was too busy staring out at the being beyond the viewing window, suspended by a metal restraint,a ring that held its arms and legs wide, and kept its head facing forward.

This facility wasn't designed for this. The only reason the life form was even brought here was simply because the facility had similar beasts to take care of. It was a bit disturbing to think about; What would the peaceful beings in the facility above think if they knew what was going on below their feet? What would go through their mind if they heard their brethren cursing and foaming at the mouth?

"Hmpfh" Her Diamond scoffed, yanking the scientist out of her revery. "This was one of hers, you know." The larger gem mused.

"M-my diamond?" Asked her head scientist.

"One of Rose's...pets" Her Diamond elaborated, never taking her eyes off the creature inside. She said the name with such loathing, such venom that Tourmaline couldn't help but shudder. No one had any doubts of whom she was referring to. "It must have meant something to her, living so close." The Diamond continued thoughtfully. A small smile tugged at the corners of the larger gem's mouth, further terrifying Tourmaline.

"I'm going to enjoy this. Start the procedure."

"Y-yes, my Diamond!" Tourmaline squeaked, typing away on the controls. A set of arms extended from the ceiling, each one shoving gem shards against the brown flesh of the creature's upper body. The molten hot bonding material rushed down the tubing connecting the arms to the ceiling. The Diamond's face, eerily lit by the resin, had a haunting, hollow quality to it, as the beast began to scream.


	2. Chapter 1

I remember the forest. That image, the sun light dyed green by leaves, the smell of the woods, the birds and squirrels making a racket in the branches, that was always what I went back to when I tried to remember my childhood. The day it happened was no different from any other day.

My tribe had gone to our spring camping site, after days of travel and nights of sleeping under little more than stars, we had finally made it. Camp was being set up and everyone was busy, two families were setting up the wigwams, another family was setting up the rest of the travel rations to be eaten, and of course, it was the children's job to collect sticks for the camp's fire.

At eight years old, I was hardly a child anymore, at least I liked to think of myself as old and wise. There were plenty of children younger than me, so I had at least six sets of eyes looking to me for guidance, making it my responsibility to lead the tinder collection duties. We went south of camp, chatting, laughing, joking, hardly even focused on the work. That is, until I heard my name.

"Tioata!" One of the littlest ones called, running over and pointing at the forest behind. At first I was going to scold him for leaving his timber behind, but the fear in his eyes made me pause. "Toiti, daa galidastanhi?" (Toiti, what's wrong?) I asked him as he ran into my legs, quivering from head to foot.

"Ya yawh!" He whispered, pointing back the way he had come. My eyes widened and my stomach tightened. Sky people. They had arrived many years before I was born. The Sky People were women of all different shades, but they all shared one thing in common; they destroyed whatever they touched. They were devils, beasts that only knew hunger. Before, in my father's day, they had just been content with the land, but something had changed. Now they attacked the land people whenever they found them. No one was safe!

I scooped Toiti up on my shoulders, and ran with the other children back to the camp grounds. I grabbed the nearest adult and repeated what Toiti had told me. The news spread quickly through the camp, and just like that the happy atmosphere evaporated. The homes that had not been set up fully were quickly broken down, what couldn't be taken quickly enough was abandoned to the grove. We began to move, headed north, and, hopefully, away from the sky beasts.

I still don't know if they found our campsite or if they saw us retreating, but the Sky People gave chase. We heard them moving through the trees behind us. We ran but so did the Sky People. They didn't seem to tire, no matter how fast they went. They were gaining, the chief had to make a tough decision.

"Distluy!" (Split up!) He barked. "Aniskya, tonteel gadodi whaiaro!" (Men, fight with me!) The men came to a stop, pulling hunting spears and bows from their backs while the women and children continued to run, some of the women carrying their crying offspring in their arms. We never saw what happened, but we all heard the screams, and the laughter of the Sky People.

We found ourselves on the banks of the river that cut through our woodlands, swollen with melted snow. The ground was squishy and muddy. We all heard it when the Sky people caught up behind us, one of them, a bright green one as big as a mountain, stepped out of the woods ahead of us, cutting off our escape.

"Heh, told ya they wouldn't see me." The green one chuckled as she approached, hefting a spear in one hand.

"Whatever." A squat purple one behind us grunted, her left foot encased by some lilac colored shell, making every other step extra loud. "We caught them, that's all that matters."

"It doesn't matter."Another said, thinner and a darker shade of purple. "Rose Quartz hardly even notices when we eradicate her organics anymore. This is just to give Citrine something to gloat about when the clashes start."

"Are you going against the orders of your commanding officer?" The green one asked in a dangerous tone.

"Just pointing out a fact." The taller purple one said. A stone glowed on her right shoulder, and from it she drew a long, sharp blade. What remained of my tribe huddled together, confused and terrified. No one knew what was being said, the language of the Sky People was a mystery to us. We didn't have to understand, though, our imaginations filled in the gaps. A woman stepped out of the crowd, standing tall, her back straight as an arrow.

"Ijula jo vtlagohusi dah nahau." (We have done nothing to you.) She tried to reason with the sky beasts, keeping eye contact with the green one. "Adansdi bii k'e." (Go in peace.)

The green one simply sneered. "Looks like this one is volunteering" she said. A scream went through the crowd as easily as the spear ran through the woman's belly. To this day, I still cannot remember what that brave woman's name was.

Chaos came soon after. The other two Sky women took this as a cue to start the slaughter. Women and children ran in all directions, bumping into one another, mud mixing with blood beneath our feet. I tried to run, I won't claim I did otherwise. I tried to run and almost immediately I was stopped by a purple shape. I caught a flash of movement before pain erupted in my stomach. I caught a brief look at my attacker as I soared through the air. The purple one with the large foot grinned at me from my starting position, her foot still up in the air, her eyes gleeful as I flew. I hit a tree, hard, on the opposite bank of the river, all the air left me and my vision swam.

I gasped for air, but found only water. My limp body had found the river and the current swept me downstream in a matter of seconds. I hit rocks, tree branches, and the muddy bottom of the river, tumbling over and over again, occasionally surfacing to gasp a breath of air, before being tugged under again. Sometime later, I don't know how long, I finally managed to drag myself ashore where I collapsed.

I awoke sometime after sundown, my body bruised and sore, but alive. My back ached, my stomach had an ugly purple bruise all over it, I was missing a tooth, my left eye had swollen shut, and several of my fingernails were gone. There was no one around, the only noises that filled the night air were those of crickets and the occasional owl. I was alive, but I was hurt and alone.

I laid there on the muddy banks, crying for what must've been hours as quietly as I could manage. As sure as I was that I was alone, I couldn't risk the Sky People finding me there. When my tears were all used up, I got to my feet, grimacing all the while. I broke off a tree branch and used it to hobble upstream, following the stars when I could.

Over the next couple of days I trekked, keeping my eyes and ears open for another soul. I survived on berries, and weaved a basket to fish with, but my main concern was finding our spring camp, or a fellow traveler. After seven days and six nights, navigating by the stars, I found the glade where my people spent spring after spring for only the gods knew how long. What had been set up remained there untouched by the Sky People, what few tracks I found were made the day of the slaughter. Still, now that I found my way back, I felt certain that any survivors would make the same journey.

So I waited...and waited. When three more weeks went by I started to fear the worst. When another two weeks had come and gone I began to come to grips with the horrible truth. There were no survivors. I, Tioata, was the last of my people. I struggled with that. I was the chief now, by default if nothing else. The mantel fell on my shoulders. I had to treat the responsibility seriously, with as much as I could muster.

I got to work. I wasn't very good at what I had to do, but it had to be done, for the sake of the tribe. I created a small totem, carving it with a sharp piece of flint. When it was complete, the snarling face of the Great Bear looked out at me. I sliced the tip of my finger and marked the top of the totem with my blood before setting it beneath the tallest tree I could find. I bowed my head over the great bear and I prayed. "Adansdi Kowhae Shaash watci bikaa uisi. Adansdi Papara Maiitsoh vagatiya nahau hahgo atsawesododi. Adansdi nasgi ie uleyov awaddi Hawindav Wutanv Kopurehe anaa. Adansdi k'e awaddi nasagi asgagni bine'di" (May Mother Bear watch over you on your journey. May Father Wolf guard you when you rest. May those that wander find the Land of under the Raven's eyes. May peace find those left behind. ) Tears ran down my face as I finished the prayer, and even after. I know it wasn't a chiefly thing to do, but I was eight, and all alone in this world. Once again, I cried until I could cry no more. With a wet sniff I got to my feet, took one last look at the bear, and began to walk. I was without a tribe, without a home. I couldn't bare to stay anymore, but neither did I know where I was going. What I did know was this; I was going to learn what I could about the Sky People, and I was going to take down as many as I could before I too had to leave this world behind!


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I had settled far from my old home, moving south along the river that had saved my life. I traveled for weeks on that river, occasionally jumping into the water when I heard the movement of another creature in the woods. Usually, my paranoia was caused by a deer, or a raccoon, but on rare occasions, I'd be rewarded for my caution when something far bigger, and far more dangerous passed by. Time and time again, that river and a reed straw saved my life from bears, wolves, and the Sky People. Some of them seemed easier to trick than others, simply throwing a rock in a direction away from the river was enough of a distraction to keep them from noticing me slipping in. Other times were far closer calls. I once lost my loincloth tricking a one eyed, green sky woman that I had drowned. Thank the gods for murky water.

Eventually, my travels brought me to a denser, wilder woods, where the river thundered over a small cliff. I made my home in an opening behind the waterfall. It was small, cramped, and damp at first, but with the work I put into it in the first few months, I had managed to fix at least one of those problems. I managed to make a little roof out of bark that stuck just out of the cave, which kept the water out.

After settling in, I got to staking out my new territory and I found, much to my surprise, horror, and rage, that I was not the first to settle there. Nearly a day's walk south east of my waterfall was a settlement, completely enclosed by thorny vines and brambles. Peering inside from a scaled tree, I could see figures moving in a clearing of sorts, with stone totems of an impressive sized woman and pools of pink tinted water. The decor held little importance, what got my blood boiling was the figures themselves. Sky people! Even from this distance there was no mistaking the rainbow of variety their flesh seemed to take.

Until I was ready, I couldn't come to this section of the woods. Even knowing they were so close made things dangerous for me. I should move on and abandon the cave behind the waterfall, but thoughts of revenge made me less cautious than I should've been.

The very day I discovered the sky people's encampment, I returned to my waterfall and began to train my body. I made an ax; a short handle made of a sturdy wood and a head of sharpened flint. My body grew leaner and stronger. I hunted with my weapon, both in close quarters, and by throwing it at my would-be meals. I practiced and worked with that first ax until it felt like an extension of my arm. I knew every notch and groove in the wood as much as I knew the finer points of my own hand.

Every few days, I would visit my stake out tree and watch the sky people. I learned quite a bit from my position; there were at least one hundred of them, a fairly large tribe, all of different size and shapes. There were the big ones, like the hulking green beast that had helped destroy my people, and there were short ones, barely noticeable from my vantage point. Occasionally, some would leave their camp to scout around the area. Perimeter searches usually only went a few dozen yards from the nearest wall of their encampment, usually done either alone or in pairs, while more extensive searches sent a larger force of about five to ten much further out to examine a wide swath of land. I could only hope they'd miss me if they came to my cliffside home.

Days passed, then weeks, a much milder winter than I had ever known came, and went. Everyday I did something, anything to keep busy; I gathered wood, I hunted, I fished, I weaved, I trained, I spied. But, eventually, I did have to think about the people I had lost. I didn't have anyone. My tribe was gone. All the friends I had ever known, all the little ones who had looked up to me for guidance, and I couldn't help them. I hadn't even had the courage to go to the site of the slaughter to see what had become of their bodies. Truth be told, I was afraid of finding something that would well and truly break me. The corpses would scar me far more than I already was. If I became too broken, if I had too many scars, I worried there would be nothing left of me. Some nights, I'd look up at the stars, and wonder if they could see me. Kopurehe was meant to deliver messages to the dead from the living...would he tell them what I was doing? Did they know how many nights I sat in a moist cave and cried? Did they know that on my worst nights I had nightmares of grinning purple and green monster women, throwing me around before a massive foot slammed down on my skull?

I never really had a proper family, my father was killed during a hunt before I was born, my mother died bringing me into the world. I was raised by the tribe itself. I never wanted for company, I was always welcome into a family circle at meal times, or into a wigwam at night. How could I go on without that support?

These thoughts only pushed me harder. Vengeance for those I had lost would have to satisfy me. Every day I grew stronger, and every night I ended my day with a whispered prayer, the same one that ended the funeral service. "Adansdi k'e awaddi nasagi asgagni bine'd."( May peace find those left behind)

This became my routine for years. 5 summers passed in that place, hunting, hiding, training, before I finally deemed myself ready. I had scouted their movements, I had a weapon, and I had a body that was ready for action. It was time to plan my first act of revenge. Hours before day break, I painted my body with mud to break up my outline and cover my scent. I chose a tree in the midst of their normal perimeter patrols, and scaled it in the near silence of twilight. I sat, hidden by the branches and leaves, and I waited. Dawn arrived, and still I waited,and waited. It was hours before I heard movement from below, and caught sight of my prey, slowly walking towards me from one end of the woods.


	4. Chapter 3

It was odd for a Sky Person, and that was saying something; She was average sized for a Sky woman, and although her skin was a deep maroon color, her hair was half red, half blue, switching from one to the other in uneven spots. Her clothing was ripped and torn, she was missing one shoe, and her leg coverings on that leg were torn in several places. Starting from her left shoulder and going down to her right hip was some sort of sash, light blue on her shoulder, and darker blue as it went over her torso, ending in some sort of half skirt. The oddest part about her, however, was her eyes; The right eye was red, the left eye was blue...but the third eye, the one dead center of her forehead, was purple.

I shuddered as I watched the sky beast wander the woods, almost aimlessly. She followed the well carved trail around the perimeter, the grass stomped into the dirt by many pairs of feet walking this way. Her eyes moved this way and that, checking for foot prints, looking up at the sky through the leaves, occasionally pausing on a bird or butterfly as she moved, without a care in the world.

I gritted my teeth in silent rage. I knew better than to trust this creature's serenity as anything more than a facade. I knew that, given the chance, this creature, this thing, would see me die and not bat an eye about it. I gripped my ax tightly with both hands. Just a little closer now...closer, and I'd strike my first blow against the Sky People. It was just like hunting, one quick blow and I'd have one of my tribe's killers at my feet.

I waited until she was just below my branch, then, with a quick jump, I was dropping down on her. The world seemed to slow. I brought my ax up, high over my head, as gravity took me down towards her. She started to turn towards the noise, I could see her left eye widening, I saw a sudden flash of light and then...I don't remember anything else.

* * *

I awoke to voices around me, whispering in hushed, worried tones. I could not understand what was being said, but I recognized the language enough to realize I should just play dead.

"Are you sure you're alright, Garnet?" A soft voice seemed to question, somewhere off to my right. My head was still swimming from whatever happened, but I could tell that I was sitting with my back against a tree. My arms were pressed to my sides by something, wrapped firmly around me. I had never felt a rope quite like this one, it was almost like someone had gotten the stones themselves to link arms and wrap around me.

"Yes Angelite, I'm fine" A slightly deeper voice answered, its tone exasperated. "It didn't even touch me."

"Are you sure though? Let me see your left hand again. I could've sworn I saw a crack in your gem!"

"You worry too much, Ang!" A new voice, sounding much closer than I would've liked, this one just as deep as the other but far more boisterous. "If Garnet says the Pebble didn't touch her, then it didn't touch her." I grunted as I felt a foot nudge my leg. "Not that it really could. Bet you saw it coming last week!"

"I actually saw it coming a second before it jumped from the tree" The other deeper voice responded. The group fell silent as I silently took stock of my situation. I was stuck to a tree, my face hurt, my left eye was swollen shut, there were at least three of them, and my axe was not in my hand anymore. All in all, my odds of survival were looking pretty abysmal. I hadn't even manage to kill one of them, but, surprisingly, that thought bothered me way more than actually dying. Maybe part of me had always suspected that this plan was going to end in my death, I don't really know. All I really knew was that I was prepared to fight my way through the world beyond, with or without the protection of Kowhae Shaash. There would be no funeral for me, no totem, I couldn't guarantee that she'd be there when it was my time. But I could still make my own way to the realm of my ancestors.

"Where's Pearl? You sent for her, didn't you?" The soft voice said, her tone questioning.

"Yeah, had one of the little ones with me. She should be here anytime." The closer voice responded. Silence again...far longer and more awkward than before, then, finally, the closer voice spoke again. "What do you think she'll have us do with it? Shatter it?"

"Oh dear…" Whispered the soft voice. "I certainly hope not"

"I doubt it." Deep voice cut in. "Rose likes these things too much. Odds are we'll leave it alive, for her sake if nothing else. Whether we keep it here or transport it elsewhere is still a mystery." She paused, before she said. "It doesn't work that way. I can't see as far as Sapphire can and the paths diverge at just the smallest decisions. I can only focus on the immediate future"

"I wasn't going to ask anything about that…" Closer voice huffed.

"Sure you weren't." Deep voice said with a trace of amusement. Silence fell for another minute, when the soft crunching of foliage underfoot announced the arrival of a new person.

"By the stars...that thing is filthy!" A new voice gasped, much higher than any of the other three.

"Nice to see you too, Pearl." Chuckled the closest voice. I could feel the new sky person approaching, I could hear her light footsteps on the grass.

"Copal said it attacked you...is that true?" High voice asked.

"Yes" Replied Deep voice.

"Hmm…" High voice responded. "I'll have to find out why."

"How?" Asked Close voice. "I mean can you go rooting around in its head or something?"

"By the stars no! If I could do that I wouldn't have to worry about what Schorl keeps getting up to in the middle of the night. No, I'm just going to ask it a couple of questions." There was a pause, followed by. "...What?"

"Uh...Pearl" Soft voice said gently. "You do realize that it's a human, right? It probably can't speak our language."

"I'm a high ranking, diplomatic pearl" Said the high voice primly. "I wouldn't have been able to perform correctly if I wasn't equipped to offer a translation. We just have to wait until it wakes up an-"

Suddenly, something large stamped on my hand. I let out a yowl at the sudden pain, my good eye snapping open in an instant.

"Bismuth!" The high voice shrieked, her words coming from the lips of a white sky person, tall and skinny as a twig, with bright blue eyes and a nose so long and pointed it gave her an almost bird like appearance.

The one closest to me grinned "You said you wanted it awake."She was a big one with a thick square jaw, dark purple in color, with hair that hung in rows around her neck in multiple hues. Further away stood the red and blue one I had attempted to attack, standing with a sky woman who really lived up to the name sky woman; light blue skin the exact same color as a cloudless sky, wearing a long dress, her hair pinned back in a bun.

"Ugh, sometimes you're just too much." Muttered the white one, pinching the bridge of her nose. She took a step towards me. "I need to get a sample of its language to proceed." She kneeled down, her blue eyes widening as they came to my level. She gave me a smile that set my teeth on edge.

"Hello, how are you?" She asks, in a voice so sickeningly sweet that I wanted nothing more than to throttle her. How dare she talk to me like that, after what they had done! I gathered up all the bile and anger within me, and I said to her something that would've gotten my rear end reddened and a pine cone in my mouth had I said it anywhere near the tribe's women. The white one's eyes flashed.

"Oh my stars!" She gasped, clutching her chest and stumbling back.

"What? What is it?" The purple one asked, one hand coming up in a fist.

"Nothing!" White one responded. "He's...extremely unhappy." She coughs into her hand, straightens up and turns towards me again. I felt no shortage of satisfaction seeing that her smile seemed a bit more forced than what it was before. However, I got the shock of my life when she started talking again.

"Yaateeh" She says with a slight bow "Aqusa yizhi Pearl. Gadousi ni-yizhi?" (Greetings. My name is Pearl. What is your name?) I didn't think I would ever...ever hear someone speak my own language to me again. I was left dumbfounded, speechless. It shames me to say, but I felt tears coming to my eyes. This was quickly followed by blind rage.

"Hilago adanenudi-ni!" (How dare you!) I shouted. The ferocity in my voice made the white one...she called herself Pearl, stumble back. "Ni-u-ha nadaga duyu yaliti ganvgo!" (You have no right to speak my language!)

Before I could even finish my sentence, the purple one was on me, her hand becoming very very sharp, its cutting edge pressed right into my throat.

"Just say the word, Pearl, and we won't have to deal with this problem anymore!" she growled

"No Bismuth, no!" Pearl squawked, getting to her feet and turning to the larger sky woman. "We can't just go around and threaten humans with decapitation when they raise their voice! I'm getting information out of it. It's very emotional right now, I can handle it!"

I decided to pipe in, glaring up at the purple woman "Ahe-utligaesa, kohuru! Ay-yaateeh Shi-ayohishi!" (Do your worst, murderer. I welcome my own death!)

Pearl blinked, and looked between the large purple woman and me. She raised her hands in a pacifying motion, palms out, gently lowering them repeatedly until the purple woman takes her blade from my throat. Pearl returned her attention to me.

"Gadono uynada nana kohuru?" (Why do you call her murderer?) she asked quietly. I let out a small bark of laughter, the kind of laugh that had no humor to it.

"Ya yawh kohuru! Aqu-Shiki atloi ayohi haala itsvsa!" (Sky people are murderers! My family lay dead because of yours!) Pearl's eyes flashed again, before they softened. I could have sworn I saw a tear forming in her right eye. But I must have been mistaken.

"Uynada...jo-tla atloi? Jo-tla anilasdav?" (You...have no family? Have no tribe?) She asked gently. For some reason that just made it worse.

"Jo-analihelig Ya yawh!" (No thanks to the Sky people!) I snapped back, fighting back my tears. "Ay-agagasesta anilasdav ayo! Ay...Ay…" (I watched my family die! I...I…) I couldn't look at Pearl. She just...I felt so angry. I was scared, I was alone, I was ashamed that I had failed in my mission, I was mad that my life goal had been taken from me. They were going to kill me and I had to go to my people telling them that not one of their murderers would be joining us in the beyond.

Pearl sniffed softly, turning from me to look back at her fellow sky women. I saw her hand fall away from her face, but I still kept my eyes down. I couldn't look at them. "It...the diamonds' soldiers must've...they…" I heard the tremors in Pearl's voice. She took a deep breath and continued. "They shattered its entire tribe. It...doesn't know the difference between us and them."

The blue one let out a soft gasp and before I even knew what was happening she was flying at me. I tensed, prepared for an attack, but what she did was wrap her arms around my head and shoulders. She pulled me against her and started sobbing uncontrollably.

"What do we do then…?" Asked the big one. "This can't be a one time thing, there has to be more out there that we haven't found!"

A shiver ran down the red and blue one's spine, and her middle eye widend. "Y-yes...yes without a doubt…" She said softly. Pearl and the purple one looked at her, but they didn't say anything, simply giving her a grim nod.

"So what do we do with the human?" Purple continued, giving me a glance.

"We're keeping it!" Blue said fiercely, her cries ceasing immediately.

"Ang..." Purple started to say

"Bismuth, this poor thing is hurt! We can't just leave it out there all alone after what they did!" Growled the blue one, still clutching my head to her chest that was starting to make me feel very uncomfortable.

"There is also the pragmatic side to think about." The red and blue one said, offering her opinion. "It's obviously violent towards all Gems, if we let it roam free there's no telling when or who it'd attack next. If we keep it nearby we can at least teach it not to attack us."

"Hmm…" Pearl said, nodding slowly. "We should take him to Rose. She can decide what to do with it." The other two seemed to agree with whatever Pearl was saying. She turned back to me, abruptly switching back to my own language.

"Itsula gahtahn-uyn ditlohisdi Igas-naatanni." (We are taking you to meet our leader.) she said quietly. "Nasgia dolee aduladi yidiist ni-kanohelvs" (She will want to hear your story).

I started to protest but all at once the odd rope that kept me bound to the tree disappeared. I was then lifted bodily from the ground by the blue woman, pressed firmly to her bosom like a newborn, and carried through the woods. I squirmed and flailed, but the blue one acted as if I weighed nothing and simply carried me past the bramble barrier, into the humidity of the springs beyond.


	5. Chapter 4

~~Rose Quartz~~

As dawn rose over the forest, a lone woman sat atop one of the two massive hills, watching the sun rise. She smiled as the rays of the star's light sparkled through the morning mist, creating a beautiful mosaic of color and shadow. She always loved this part of the morning, when she could just sit, alone in the peaceful serenity of it all.

But all too soon, she had to move on. With a resigned sigh she took to her feet, placing one hand on the hilt of her sword, pausing to tuck a lock of her long pink hair out of her face before she began to move. She made her way down the winding path from the top of her solitary look out, to the forest below, pausing on occasion to enjoy the tranquility of the morning, to take in the song of the birds, and to marvel at the bravery of a snake that passed before her.

"No legs, but you just keep fighting, don't you?" Rose whispered with a sad smile. The snake paused to look up at her, its forked tongue flicking out of its mouth. Rose gave it a small, admiring nod and watched it slither into the grass on the other side of the trail before passing on.

It took the meandering leader of the Crystal gems almost an hour to get to the encampment between the two hills, at which point another gem came running. She was small, and slim, with a thin lithe body, and her hair done up in an elegant knot at the base of her head, her perfectly smooth blue green gemstone situated directly over her collar bone. She skidded to a stop, kicking up dust around her green leggings.

"Rose!" She gasps, standing up a straight at attention. Rose hid a grimace. She hated when they acted so formally. But Jade was still relatively new to their cause, she'd relax in time.

"Yes, Jade? Is something wrong?" Rose asked gently. Although her voice immenated concern, her left hand tightened on the sword at her hip.

"Ma'am, Garnet was attacked on her patrol!" The word sent an arrow of emotion straight through Rose's body. Fear, concern, anger, guilt, sadness, all flashed across her face in a matter of seconds before her features resolved themselves into a determined glare.

"Where is she? Is she hurt? Where did the scouting party put her?" Rose asked rapidly, hurrying past Jade towards the camp. The messenger followed close behind Rose.

"She's not injured, she fought off her attacker easily!" Jade said. Relief flooded Rose, but she kept up the pace. She sensed the but coming before Jade spoke it. "The interesting thing was just what attacked her. One of those humans jumped out of a tree at her and tried to take her head off with an ax!"

Rose stopped. She had stopped so suddenly that Jade walked right past. The shock from Jade's statement was clearly evident on her face.

"A...human attacked her?" She asked.

"Yeah" Jade said, nodding. "That was pretty much our reaction as well. Pearl asked me to come find you, the human has parlayed after the failed attack and it wants to talk with you...or at least that's how Pearl put it." Rose's confused frown only deepend.

"I...see" She said thoughtfully, continuing at the same pace she had been before. "And where is it?" She asks.

"They had it sequestered in one of the temporary living quarters." Jade explained. "Section Gamma Epsilon, subsection Mu, room three" Rose responded with a curt nod.

"Anything else I should know about?" She asks.

"There was a small skirmish near Warp Pad Phi, nothing too extreme, no injuries on our side, though Lacey did manage to poof one of their quartz. Her compatriots carried her away before we could properly bubble her, though." Jade glanced in Rose's direction. "Beyond that, no."

"Good. Sometimes no news is best." She muses as they reached the temporary housing complex. It was a simple set of three doors set into a sheer rock wall, constructed mostly by Bismuth to give the Crystal Gem rebellion a place to rest their heads and compose themselves. Each door contained a star shape set in the center, which flashed a different color depending on what gem was closest to it, but the doorways themselves were color coded, the furthest to left was rimmed with dark blue, the middle was rimmed with bright yellow, and the furthest to the right a soft pink.

Rose turned to the left and stepped forward to the blue door, it took a moment to read her intentions, then swung open to reveal corridor Mu. She strode down the hallway, the door swinging shut behind her before she reached the third door in the sequence. Inside she could hear Pearl's high pitched cries, and a deeper, rougher growl, both in a language she couldn't understand.

With only a moment's hesitation, Rose reached out and knocked before pushing the door open. What she walked in on very nearly made her laugh. She saw Pearl, her Pearl, frozen in mid shriek, stuck on one leg, an arm flying out behind her to help her balance, the other draw forward with a rapier in hand pressed against the neck of a human. The human in question was lean and muscular with the dark complexion of the ones that saw a lot of sun. His hair was short and scruffy, he had the tiniest wisps of a beard starting to form, and he was dressed in just a simple loin cloth and a pair of hide shoes. This human also stood frozen staring at her. It was still dripping wet from what appeared to be a very recent dip in the fountain, mud mixing with the enchanted waters and dribbling down his face, and he currently had Pearl's right ankle grasped in one hand, her skinny leg clenched between his teeth, and his fist coming up to punch her somewhere in the general area of her groin.

Rose tried to fight the smile off her face.

"Not a good time?" She asked with a slight snicker. Pearl stood up a little straighter.

"N-no Rose!" Pearl said quickly. "Now is the perf- Ayee!" Her assurances ended in a loud yelp as the human slammed his fist in her thigh and bit down harder on her flesh.

"Alewis!" She growled at her opponent. "Igas-naatanni itsula make-ni ditlohisdi!" The human seemed to take what she said into consideration before spitting her leg out with some sort of grunt followed by a grumble.

"What did you say?" Rose asked curiously.

"I told him that you're our leader." Pearl said primly, still glaring daggers at the human and straightening out her spit covered leg, brushing out the hem of her shirt.

"And what did he say?" Rose asked. Pearl's cheeks flushed.

"He...he said 'You don't taste good anyway'" Pearl responded with a huff. Rose giggled. Rose gently tapped on the wall and thought about what she wanted. In an instant, what rose from the floor was a set of small cushions, two directly across from one another, one set off to the side of the other two. Rose took the one directly across from the doorway and motioned to her two companions.

"It doesn't make any sense for us to not be comfortable while we talk. Sit, please" Rose said with a small smile. Pearl made quick work translating this into the human's own tongue, but still the human hesitated. Pearl took a seat on the cushion perpendicular to the other two, glancing up at Rose.

"What do you think of him?" Rose asked quietly out of the corner of her mouth.

"I think he's angry, confused, smelly, bad tempered, rude, savage, primitive, flea bitten, and woefully lacking." Pearl responded, in an equally hushed tone. "But he might have useful information, if his story is accurate. So I thought it best if you spoke to him personally."

Rose smiled. Although she'd never admit it to Pearl, she had different reasons for wanting to talk with a human. The whole species just fascinated her. Being able to pick a human's brain was always so amazing! They had such a unique outlook on the world around them! Their fragility, their determination, and their brief lives combined with their environment to make perspectives utterly unique to each and every human Rose had come across. Although she had only conversed with a total of twelve humans at any great length, she would never want to deny herself the opportunity to do it again!

Finally, the human crossed the small space, and poked the cushion with his foot. There was another brief pause before, slowly, he lowered himself into it and sat with his legs crossed.

"Good" Rose said brightly. "Now we can begin!"


	6. Chapter 5

~~Rose Quartz~~

Rose was no longer smiling. It had taken some prompting, and the relinquishing of her sword to gain the human, Tioata's, confidence. But once he began to speak, he didn't stop. The story flowed from him like a river of pain, and Rose was caught in the deluge. As the story came to its conclusion Rose felt so much; Pity, anger, guilt, sadness, and a deep sort of determination. As Pearl continued to translate Tioata's tale Rose was struck with an intense desire to grab the human, hold him close to her, and tell him everything was going to be okay. She wanted to protect the poor thing from everything the world had to throw at them!

She reigned in that particular desire, however. If she tried to touch him now that'd only succeed in driving him away. Even a gentle touch on the arm could be catastrophic for the human's fragile emotional state. When the story finally got to the more recent past, his attack on Garnet, Tioata seemed to retreat in on himself. He curled up on his cushion and started to repeat the same phrase, over and over again.

"Ay-chaleind unsa...Ay-chaleind unsa" Tears ran freely down the human's cheeks as he held himself. Slowly, Rose looked at Pearl, tears stinging at the edge of her own vision.

"What...does that mean?" She asks, softly. Pearl hesitated before answering.

"He's just saying 'I failed them'" Pearl responded, just as softly. Rose felt as if someone had torn her gem from her and stomped on it. The tears rolled, hot and fat down her cheeks. She found herself reaching out to touch Tioata, to comfort him anyway she could, before she stopped herself. She pulled herself back and looked away.

"We'll...let him ride this out." She says, not looking at either the sobbing human or the staring, expectant Pearl.

It took an hour and a half for Tioata to fall silent, and another thirty minutes before Rose felt confident enough to speak. When she did, her voice was gentle, and soft, her words directed towards him and not her Pearl.

"I know this is hard." She said, as Pearl began to translate again. "Believe me, I know what it's like to lose your family." She looks down at her hands, her mind flashing back, first to Blue and Yellow, then, more recently, to the members of the Crystal Gems lost in all this fighting.

"But, your tribe wouldn't want you to wall yourself off like this. We are not your enemy, not here. We're from a different tribe than the ones that attacked you. We are here to protect this...place." She didn't know how the human would react to the knowledge that his world was just one of potentially billions out there all floating in a vast vacuum of nothingness. The last time she had tried it the human had broken down in tears. She wasn't willing to drive another human into an existential sadness when he had only just stop sobbing.

"Haa yadai-ni onadaa Aqu-Shiki yadai-dula" Her mind snapped painfully back to the present as the human, his voice hoarse from the emotional episode before, began to speak again. "Vtali-ni ndi-yoo'bi."

"How would you know what my people would want? You've never even seen them." Pearl asked, careful to keep her tone much the same as the human's own; Down, low, and subdued.

Rose frowned. Slowly, tentatively, she allowed her emotions to flow from her. A soft pink tendril of her aura radiated off her, so lightly colored that the change was hardly noticeable. Despite her precautions, Pearl's eyes widened. Rose shot her a quick, warning look. In response, Pearl's hands shot upwards and covered her mouth.

Tioata's eyes flicked in Pearl's direction, his frown deepening in his confusion. The brief distraction was just what Rose needed, her aura closed in and brushed up against the human's hand. Immediately Tioata's emotions washed through the link. Rose found herself very nearly overwhelmed by the grief, the anger, and the resentment in that moment, once again forcibly reminded of the diamonds. She kept a straight face and wrapped her aura around him like a comforting hug.

"It will be okay" She said gently, emphasizing her words with as much contentment and understanding she could push through her aura. Hesitantly, Pearl began to translate for her again. "I know it will take you some time to adjust. But when you feel ready, we're going to need you to describe what the three who did this to you looked like."

After a moment, the human bobbed its head in agreement. Rose smiled reassuringly. "Until then, this room is yours. We will have someone bring you anything you need, and Pearl will come here once a day to teach you how to speak our language."

"What!" Pearl squawked, her head jerking to look at Rose. "Rose you can't be serious! I have more important things to do than-" Rose silenced her with a look.

"You're the only one who can speak both languages, and it'll be easier for everyone if he knew how to communicate with the rest of us." She said softly. When Pearl continued to pout, Rose decided she'd better lay it on extra thick. "I wouldn't trust this to anyone but you, Pearl."

Color flushed into Pearl's cheeks. "R-really?" She asked, her eyes growing wide. Rose nodded.

"Go on...tell him…" Pearl hesitated, then completed the translation. The human's eyes narrowed, then he said something that made Pearl's cheeks flush again. She started to sputter before hurriedly answering him in his own language again.

"What did he say?" Rose asked.

"He...n-nothing" Pearl said quickly, the dark blue flush spreading from her cheeks, all the way over the bridge of her nose.

"Pearl…" Rose said suspiciously, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You know that I can tell when you're lying."

Pearl gulped several times before she responded. "He...ah...wanted to know whether our relationship was professional or...romantic."

It was Rose's turn to blush, but she found the situation a little bit more amusing than Pearl. A smirk formed on her lips. "Did he say that exactly or did he ask for details?"

Pearl got to her feet. "W-w-why would you look at the time! I think I should start his lesson now and you have some serious, important, leader type duties to do!" The slim gem's words came out in a mad rush. She hurriedly pushes Rose to her feet and practically throws her out of the room. "Goodbye! Have a nice night! So long! Take care! Out, out, out!"

Once the door shut on her, Pearl wheeled around and pressed her back to it, letting out groan and covering her face with both hands. Rose gently knocked on the other side of the barrier a few times before Pearl, peeking through her fingers, noticed that the human was still clutching Rose's sword. Wordlessly, she retrieved the weapon from him, marched it to the door, and passed it around the door frame. Then she, once again, sank into a wordless, blushing ball of embarrassment.


	7. Chapter 6

~~Tioata~~

I didn't know how long I was stuck in the wishing room. After my initial meeting with the Sky Woman, Rose Quartz, I was left to my own devices. The room changed to fit my desires; When I wanted to sleep, a circular nest of cushions rose from the floor in one corner, when I wanted to run the floor began to move beneath my feet, keeping pace with even my fastest sprint until I grew tired, when I needed to relieve myself a hole opened up in one corner of the room and disappeared the moment I had finished.

The only exception to this was when I had visitors, and I often had visitors. It seemed when one of the sky women arrived the room would defer to them as opposed to myself.

Every so often Pearl would arrive for my lesson on their tongue. The first couple of times she came I resisted, ignoring her as best I could and refusing to speak in any language other than my own. But after a dozen or so visits, including one where she threatened to bury me in the dirt until I learned some manners, I began to relent.

I had missed talking to others more than I had realized, and after so long in silent solitude it felt as if a weight were being loosened from around my heart.

Pearl was far from my only visitor, however. Three times a day, or at least what I assumed to be one day, the large blue sky woman Angelite would arrive with something for me to eat. More often than not, it was a strawberry the size of a fist. As I ate she'd sit there and fuss over me like a mother hen, brushing my hair, poking and prodding at my arms and belly, or other such annoying things.

She'd talk or ask questions and as the days went on and Pearl's lessons started to take hold, I found myself able to pick out words and phrases that I recognized, though I rarely answered.

When Angelite departed for the second time, I'd usually get another visitor, a sky person of any size or color would peek in on me throughout the day, sometimes for just a second, a flash of movement at my door, sometimes their gazed were longer and lingering. When this occurred, I'd pause with whatever I was doing and I'd stare them down until they left. The only sky woman who refused to leave when I did this was one of the child sized one.

She stood level with my navel, her skin a dark shade of blue, her hair lighter like the sky falling down to the middle of her back, her bangs covering her eyes. She wore a floor length dress, lightly ruffled,with white shoulder pads and long white gloves. A gemstone rested in the palm of her right hand, the same shade of blue as her flesh.

She never spoke, she never left when I tried to stare her down, instead she sat across the room from me and folded her hands in her lap. She'd smile a pleasant sort of smile at me, and just sit there, occasionally humming a tune to herself to pass the time. With every one of of her visits it became a little easier to ignore her and do other things in her company.

I began to see her as the closest thing I had to a friend in this place. She never asked me to speak, she never forced me to eat, she never made me do much of anything, she was just content to sit and enjoy the silence. I began to appreciate that. Not so much the silence, not like I had before when the silence was all I had, but the willingness to let me do what I would at my own pace. I had the feeling that she'd wait for as long as it took for me to get to whatever point she was waiting for.

One day, during one of her visits the rainbow haired one entered the wishing room for the first time. She blinked down at the little blue one, at first surprised, then a smirk spread across her lips.

"So, where's your other half?" She asked.

"Not here." Said my blue companion simply.

"Heh heh" The purple woman chuckled. "Yeah. Still not up to it?"

"No. Ruby is a bit slower to forgive. But she'll warm up in time."

This got the purple one laughing again. I wish I could understand the joke, but as it was I was lucky to catch every fourth word. The purple one turned to me, a hand on her left hip.

"Well Squishy, Rose told us all how good you've been doing in here, and she thought it was high time we gave you something back for all your hard work!" I perked up. Rose's name I recognized at least. She didn't visit me nearly as often as the others, but every now and again the chief of this tribe of sky women would grace me with her presence. We'd talk, usually with Pearl present if my vocabulary was insufficient to get a point across. I found it strangely easy to talk to Rose. Whenever she walked into the room there was always that initial fear and unease, I sometimes worried Pearl would go spreading tales about me to her, but that was brushed away the moment Rose conjured up the same seats she had on our first meeting and sat down to talk.

Out of the confusing mass of noise the purple one had spoken, I managed to pick out the words "Give" "Good" "Here" "High" "Hard" and "Work". Did they have some sort of job for me? Were they expecting me to climb something. I was even more confused when she reached behind her and pulled something from beneath her locks. It took me a second to recognize the ax I had crafted. My eyes widened and I quickly grabbed it from her.

"It's a good attempt" The sky woman said gruffly. "I think I could make you a proper one, if you're good" I held the ax close to my body, examining the notches worn into the handle by my fingers, the curve of the blade I had scraped myself. Losing it had left a hole in my life that I had not notice until now. Quietly I set the ax down on my left side and got to my feet. I bowed my head to her, exposing the back of my neck.

"My tonk" I said, the words coming out thick and unnaturally. I frowned, that didn't sound right. I struggled to recall the way Pearl had said the word and tried again.

"My...thank?" I glanced up. Both sky women were smiling and the purple one gave me a pat on the shoulder that nearly sent me crashing to the floor.

"Don't mention it, Squishy! Just call me up if you ever need a new one!" She chuckled before turning and striding out the door.

The rest of that day I trained with my ax, reacquainting myself with its weight. The blue gem observed from her side of the room for another hour before she got up and excused herself without a word or backward glance.

I had worked up a sweat by the time Pearl and Rose arrived for another meeting. Pearl's nose wrinkled as she walked in.

"We should really think about bathing him, he smells worse by the day" Pearl whispered to Rose. The large sky woman chuckled and just conjured the seats again, sitting across from me.

"I see you got my gift." Rose said brightly, her words translated by Pearl, as always. I nodded and attempted to answer as best I could in her language.

"Yas...My get. Thank." I said, bowing my head and revealing the back of my neck again.

"You're welcome." She responded with that same kind smile. I raised my head and thought for a moment or two.

"...Why?" I finally said. The question seemed to puzzle Rose, so I continued. "Why you give? My try hunt...down…" I groaned and had Pearl translate the rest for me.

"I wanted to show you that we trust you. You've trusted us with your life for these past few weeks, it was time to show a similar amount of trust in you." Rose explained gently. Weeks, had it really been that long? Time passed differently when there was no sun to keep the time by.

"You know you don't need to live cooped up in here." Rose continued. "You can leave this room whenever you want...it'd do you some good to get out into the sun once in a while." And there we were, back on this ploy again. She had been trying on every one of her visits as of late to get me to come out to the fountain outside my room. I had always refused. No matter how much they tried to assure me that they wouldn't hurt me out there, I couldn't bring myself to go. In here there might not be much, but it was my space. I was master of this little corner of the world. It was mine.

"No" I said with a shake of my head. "My stay." Rose sighed a defeated little sigh.

"As you wish, I won't force you." She said with a small, sad chuckle. "I just wish you would. The world is so beautiful, you can't just shut yourself away from it like this."

"Rainbow hair speak she make" I said, holding up my ax in a blatant attempt to change the subject. A confused look passed over Rose's features before she suddenly realized what I was talking about.

"Oh, Bismuth! Yes. Bismuth makes our weapons." I filed that name away for later. The purple one was named Bismuth and she made weapons. Good to know. "Did you want a new ax? I could ask her to make you one."

I shook my head. "No. My." I gripped the handle of the ax protectively.

And so we talked. I butchered and hacked my way through every sentence, she had Pearl translate every one of her words to me. We talked about exercises I did, the small skirmishes and fights her tribe and the other had, the things I had seen on my trip here and there, and many other things.

She seemed most interested in the most trivial things; eating, drinking, how long I could hold my breath, why I kept working on my body if I was just going to sit inside all day, the process of how a human makes another human. I didn't have answers for everything she asked, but I answered to the best of my knowledge and she seemed satisfied. Pearl, on the other hand, didn't look too happy, particularly with certain questions. When it came to the question of breeding, and my answer became too complicated for my limited vocabulary, Pearl made a disgusted sound, covered her mouth with both hands and promptly left the room.

Eventually, the conversation died, as it always did, and Rose took her leave.

Days passed much as they had before, in a blur of visits, exercise, language lessons, strawberries, and that same tune from my little blue visitor. I was running on the moving floor with her across the room from me once again when a loud noise, like thunder, rattled the room. The blue sky woman stood immediately, still clutching her hands in front of her. I grabbed up my ax, looking this way and that. Another boom, and the sounds of shouting. As one, my guest and I ran for the door as the building shook.

I hesitated for only a second at the door way, a second long enough for the blue child like woman to stop and hold a hand out to me. I grabbed it, feeling her icy fingers wrap around my hand. The hallway passed in a blur as she accelerated with blinding speed out towards the front of the base, out through the door and out into the garden.

The vines that surrounded the base were going wild, weaving and darting like a collection of thorny snakes at something on the other side. Around me, sky women of every shape and color were moving, gathering weapons, shouting orders. I spotted Rose at the front of the group, her hands outstretched in front of her, sweat pouring down her face as she attempted to hold up a massive pink shield with a swirling thorny vine etched into its surface. As I watched, a bright light cut through the forest, and struck the shield, causing it to ring like a struck drum.

My eyes winded as I realized what was happening; The other tribe of Sky Women were attacking.


End file.
